Gaylord cross-country team finishes week on upward swing

October 07, 2013

SAGINAW — The Gaylord boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams finished the week on a positive note with the boys taking first among Division 2 teams and the girls taking third at the Heritage Invitational in Saginaw Saturday.

Gaylord now takes this week off in anticipation of the final Big North Conference meet of the season Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Gaylord Country Club.

“Our boys team has taken a nice drop in times this last week, running probably our best race of the season,” said Gaylord coach Jeff Kalember. “We solidly thumped Cadillac after being beaten by them last Tuesday at the conference meet in Traverse City.”

Sterling McPherson (17:09) and Josh Green (17:10) continue to shrink their times. The duo finished eighth and ninth among runners in all divisions Saturday.

“Josh and Sterling continue to provide our up-front power and our 3-4-5 pack continues to improve,” Kalember said. “Freshmen Jack Hervela and Zak Goddard still do not realize how good they are, and I think they can take another 45 seconds or so to get down into the 17s where we need them.”

On the girls’ side, Alexis Smith posted a tough race, placing sixth among the bigger schools with a 20:17 time.

Kalember was pleased with the girls’ team.

“I think all five of our varsity scorers had a season best on Saturday,” he said. “Alexis moved to a whole new level of speed, stepping up with a solid season best and only just 45 seconds or so from the top three finishers.”

All three finishing within 30 seconds of each other stands as a positive step for the grouping of Gaylord’s 2-3-4 runners.

“Grace Porta had an especially nice race, nearly running a career best time in less than ideal conditions,” Kalember said. “In the next race we’re going to try to get these three to form a pack and work together.

“Our big stumbling block to rising to the next level now is the fifth girl — on any day it could be any one of the next four or five girls on the team. Someone has to step up and make the break to the pack and run with them if we want a shot at the Regional top three spots to qualify for the State Finals.”